A place for R&R

Yesterday (Monday, Oct. 22), in partnership with the nonprofit Long Beach design firm City Fabrick, I was proud to host the opening of our city’s newest public space– Park [D] Plaza at Frontenac Court.
This new public plaza on 4th Street between Elm and Linden in the East Village Arts District is a creative, exciting way to transform ordinary urban spaces into places for the public to gather, rest, people-watch, and enjoy the sights and the fresh air. Where before there was just a parking lot, now there is a spot to eat, sunbathe, read, and spend time with others in the community.
And, thanks to the creative, efficient use of space by Brian Ulasewski and his team at City Fabrick, no parking spaces were lost. In fact, one new additional space was created.
East 4th Street and the entire East Village have gone through many positive changes lately, and adding Park [D] Plaza to the same block where Berlin, Fingerprints, and Zephyr are is helping to continue creating one of the most interesting and successful enclaves in our city.
And we’re looking forward to enhancing and transforming more public space in a similar fashion in the future with help from City Fabrick and other community partners.
I want to thank the DLBA, the Housing Authority of Long Beach and the City Office of Development Services for their partnership in this project. And I want to invite everyone to come down to 4th Street, grab a coffee and snack at Berlin, or [patronize] the food trucks that will be stopping by the Plaza regularly, and spend some relaxing at the new Park [D] Plaza.
Robert Garcia
Vice Mayor
Long Beach